Companion for the King
by the manliest man
Summary: Love and marriage customs in Xing differ from that of Amestris'. Ling and Winry discuss it the night before Lan Fan lost her arm and Ling lost himself to Avarice. [Lan Fan/Ling Yao]


**Companion for the King **

It was around eleven in the evening when a tired looking girl went out of her hotel room, wearing light pink pyjamas and a pair of fuzzy bedroom slippers. Her light blond hair, although usually tied up into a high ponytail, fell to her back this time in a haphazard manner. She stopped by the coffee machine in the lobby and dropped in a few coins. The coffee was hot, and Winry held it carefully to make sure it didn't burn her fingers. She finally found a place to sit down, right near a huge glass window overlooking the street in front of the hotel.

It was calm and peaceful down at the street. The streetlamps were on, casting a soft yellow glow over the wooden benches at the sidewalk. Sitting on one of the benches was a familiar black-haired boy. Although his back was facing her, she recognized him immediately. No one in Amestris wore that kind of peculiar clothing, not even Edward, who possessed such strange taste for clothing designs and whatnot. His bright red coat was such a pain to look at, and despite being a sort of magnet for all kinds of misfortune, he never took her advice to wear something less attention grabbing.

Winry took her cup and went out of the hotel. The moment she stepped out, she instantly wished she'd brought a coat. She wondered how Ling could sit out there with that thin clothing of his.

He turned around before she could even take five steps towards him. Winry gave him an unsure smile. She didn't know him very well, and she wondered if she disturbed him in some way.

"Hello," She said, "I'm Winry. Ed and Al's friend,"

"I know you," He nodded and smiled good-naturedly. "You're Edward's automail mechanic,"

"That's right," She said, stepping closer. She gestured to their surroundings, "Aren't you cold?"

"Not really," Ling shrugged, "It's normally this cold in Xing, even during the day,"

"Really?" Winry raised a brow, "And yeah, you're from Xing, aren't you? Al told me you took the desert route to get here," The blond haired girl laughed lightly, "I'd never be able to stand that,"

"Well, I wasn't alone," Ling told her, "I had Fu and Lan Fan with me,"

"Speaking of them…where's your female bodyguard?" Winry looked around, "Whenever I see you, she's always not far behind,"

"I told her to get some rest," Ling shrugged, "Lan Fan's well trained, but I know staying awake more than the average person usually does get tiring,"

He refrained from telling the mechanic that tomorrow was an important day, which is why he's trying to build their strength up as much as possible. They were going to assist Edward and Alphonse in capturing the Homunculi. It could be dangerous. And Edward told him a few hours ago not to mention the plan to Winry, saying that 'She'll just lecture me about how dangerous it is and how I'm going to wreck her precious automail again'.

Looking at the blond haired girl now, Ling knew Edward just didn't want her to worry, and was too stubborn and full of himself to admit that.

Winry disturbed his thoughts, "Why do you want to know the secret behind Al's body?"

"Because I want to know the secret behind immortality," He simply answered.

Winry raised a brow, obviously finding the whole idea absurd. "Immortality, huh? Why do you want to find out about something like that?"

"You can think of it as a sort of bribery," Ling replied with a grin, "I'm going to use it to up my chances in becoming emperor. The succession of the throne in Xing is a tricky one, cause the Emperor has a lot of kids. There are forty-three of us in fact, with both sons and daughters combined,"

Winry didn't even try to conceal the shock on her face, "Forty three kids? Isn't that…a bit too much…?"

"They all have different mothers," Ling supplied with a laugh, knowing what she meant.

"Oh," Winry looked visibly relieved. "So you're going to use the secret of immortality to curry favour from the emperor?"

"Yup," Ling replied cheerfully.

"Wait…doesn't that mean that you'll have to…uh…y'know…marry dozens of women in order to…um…have 'princelings'?" Winry looked very confused.

"Well, to bear heirs for each clan, yes," Ling shrugged, "Why?"

"But what about…" Winry trailed off, wondering how she should say it, "What about…your female bodyguard…?"

"Lan Fan? What about her?"

"Oh, I, uh…never mind," She laughed nervously.

They both stared in silence at the street, and at the crescent shaped moon surrounded by dozens of pinpricks of light. Stars.

"Doesn't it bother you, though?" Winry resumed the conversation. "You're going to marry dozens of women, and you'll probably never love even just one of them,"

"It's a tradition," Ling shrugged, "It's not that much of a big deal. And besides, the daughters of the chief are all usually very beautiful,"

He laughed jovially.

Winry rolled her eyes. Men. They're all the same.

"Well, then, what's Lan Fan to you?" Winry asked him. She knew there was something. There had to be something. It's similar to the Colonel and Lieutenant Hawkeye. No matter how small or vague, there _is _something. You don't see it at first glance, but if you look close enough, it's there. It's definitely there.

"She's my bodyguard," Ling replied cheerfully, "Her family has served mine for generations. She works as a retainer for the Yao Clan, and I chose her to accompany me to Amestris as a bodyguard,"

Winry sighed. "What I meant was—"

"Marriage and stuff like that aren't necessary," Ling suddenly said, out of the blue.

Winry turned to him, surprised.

"If you choose someone, it doesn't really matter if you get married or anything, right?" Ling shrugged.

Winry wasn't sure how to reply to that, "What do you mean marriage doesn't matter? It's important. It's what brings two people together, right?"

"Bonds and friendship bring people together," Ling replied. "That marriage thing is all crap. It's a long, boring ceremony, and you have to wear heavy robes and sit on the floor for hours until it ends,"

Winry looked shocked, "Marriage is a holy ritual! You can't disregard it just like that,"

"It's unnecessary, that's all I'm saying," Ling shrugged, "If I choose someone, stuff like that won't matter. Marriage and having a family of our own won't matter. The fact that I'll have twenty other wives and have more than forty sons and daughters with them won't matter. If I choose someone, as long as we're together, it's enough, isn't it?"

Winry stared at him, not knowing how to respond. She wasn't even sure what he meant.

"Trivial things like marriage aren't necessary between an Emperor and his companion," Ling stated with a shrug.

Winry wasn't sure what he meant. Why do boys have to be so vague about stuff like that? She left the hotel early the next day to go to the Hughes' house. She was going to visit Maes Hughes' grave with his wife and daughter, Gracie and Elisia. Ed approached her and apologized, saying that he and Al had something important to do, and wouldn't be able to accompany her to the train station bound for Rushvalley. She was upset, but tried not to show it. Leaving Ed always made her feel a bit upset, but she brushed it off, cheerfully telling him it's alright, and that Gracie and Elisia would probably send her off anyway.

She exited the hotel together with the Elric brothers, but they parted ways soon after. Two dark shadows flew ahead of her, and when she looked up, she spotted two figures. One in black and the other one in yellow and white. They were leaping from building to building on foot, a feat that even the talented Elric brothers weren't capable of.

The Emperor and his companion.


End file.
